(This is a note from the Sponsor’s – this entry was lost in the mail and showed up just now in April , 2012, so though Jake has been released, we wanted to add this entry for you. Thank you)

I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). Wednesday was another day of awaiting our news from our ERP social worker Ms. Grey that our paperwork from our judges has been signed which will allow our parole officers to release us. Absolutely no news or anybody except ERP group member Dean Stark. Stark’s paperwork was the first to be returned. While that is good news and I was happy for him, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I had targeted as my hopeful release date as Monday, June 20th, but it didn’t appear that was going to happen now. My disappointment deepened a bit more when ERP group member Scott Dietz again contacted his sister and again she looked online on CCAP and found nothing on any of us indicating any activity on our cases. I went back to my cell and told cellie Larry Sands any hope for my release by June 20th was pretty much dead. Then about ten minutes to four Ms. Grey had returned to the dayroom and informed me my paperwork had been signed and returned by my judge five minutes before! She also told me she sent an email to PO, Helen Gaither, letting her know she could complete the final step to release me by sending the C-15 form anytime. Of course my mood did a complete reversal. Everyone in my cell know what I’d been told and they congratulated me among others in the dayroom. Of course, there were the typical people wanting to get my canteen that I had a left over. With it being Wednesday and canteen day, I was going to have quite a bit. But I’ve already decided I’m taking most if not all of it with me. I paid for it, I don’t want to deal with the begging and once I get to the house in WI, I’ll have no idea what the food situation is there. Charles and Victoria Martin, my adoptive parents, won’t be there full time until after Charles retirement on July 17th from his church in Marquette, MI. Besides I might need something to eat at the bus station while I await a ride from one of this blog’s sponsors. I should have a check for my release funds and account but I have no way of knowing how to cash that. I also will have the boxes with my stuff so I won’t be able to walk too far from them without my stuff being stolen. The bottom line is yes, a lot can go wrong but I just don’t think it will and even if it does its still going to work out. In theory, I could be release at any moment now but I actually think it will be Friday or possibly Monday, as I originally thought. I’m just so very happy the wheels are in motion and grateful this long but necessary nightmare is coming to an end.

I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). It’s 6:46 pm on Tuesday, June 21st. Tomorrow, probably in the morning, I will be freed. I gave away some of my canteen to others and am trying to find boxes to pack my stuff since they took mine when I went to the hole and never returned them. Guard Art Cole has returned after an extended absence to deal with “personal demons”. He’s reinstated the shower list which has displease many. I find myself watching the dayroom with a mixture of happiness and fear. Happiness in the sense that I no longer will be dealing with this environment and fear in the sense that I know I have many struggles and battles ahead of me. But ready or not here I go. Today wasn’t a good day for 3 guys in my ERP group. John Lloyd has learned the judge won’t look at his release paperwork for 3 weeks. I can’t imagine what he must be going through. He has spent the day talking on the phone to those he loves in angry, frustrated tones. Larry Sands and Scott Bunker’s situation remains unchanged from yesterday. They are handling it much better than I would have I think. Augie Prescott left as expected today. I missed him leaving but I’m told he was smiling. The others beside these listed found out they will be leaving Tuesday. Of course, nobody found out anything until our ERP social worker Ms. Grey showed up about 3 pm. She dismissed Lloyd’s concerns, telling him brusquely the judge had 30 business days to answer. She just doesn’t belong in this line of work. Don’t do that in front of people when a man is desperate for anything at that point. I tried to cheer him up to no avail. She also didn’t do anything for Sands or Bunker either. But I’m not going to be here to see how this turns out. I’m watching the weather. If you’ve been following this blog from the first day in prison to my hospital trips it seems like I always have bad weather for traveling days. Today is thunderstorms, yesterday had flooding and tomorrow has its challenges. But I’m not worried. There is no weather that will keep me here! But I’ll be ok. After all of this, I will be unstoppable! Just like the song said, I’ve made mistakes and not always done my best. But with God’s help, I’m going to make it!

I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). Monday started off just weird. Our ERP social worker Ms. Grey had us all assemble in our former group room which doubles as the rec room. There she informed us we need to be patient while awaiting our release paperwork to be processed and to stop having people on the outside contact the clerks for the judges involved. The problem is none of us have any faith in her or the process involved. It doesn’t help that the perception of Ms. Grey’s attitude has been one that seems to enjoy seeing the people in our group twist in the wind as they wait and not forthcoming with information. As for me, I was fortunate enough not to be involved with Milwaukee County and that my parole officer (PO) had already faxed my C15 form authorizing my release for Wednesday. I thought I was done with Ms. Grey, not quite. I was called to come see her in the dayroom from my cell. She wanted to know how I was getting transported from the bus station and if the PO had approved my plans. Of course, this had been done months ago. Then I was called down again because she had lost the Socrates assessment I had done way back at the beginning of this ERP group. She gave me a new one to fill out. At 1 pm she returned to collect it. I had thought about it and decided to ask if there was some sort of problem with my release plan. She said no. She then asked me if I was the group member that drank Everclear. I replied no I wasn’t. I was the guy who liked to drink alone at night. She nodded and went away. I’m sure she’s trying to write my case summary for my PO, Helen Gaither and her memory has failed her again. I thought social workers would keep notes on such things. But my problems are nothing compared to what 3 of my fellow ERP group members are dealing with. Cellie Larry Sands has somehow had his release paperwork get lost between when records sent it the Thursday before our graduation from ERP. Scott Bunker has had his release paperwork get put on the wrong desk because his judge had retired. John Lloyd has had his judge involved in a murder trial so nothing was getting done. Interestingly enough Lloyd and Bunker are Waukesha County cases. But neither Bunker or Sands find out what is happening without the assistance of the sister of ERP group member Scott Dietz who is kind enough to follow up on their cases with phone calls and inquiries. Lloyd had his girlfriend following up for him or he wouldn’t have found out. They were fortunate to not have heeded Ms. Grey’s acclamation this morning. The rest of the guys have no had their release paperwork signed. Now they are just waiting their PO to release them. One, Augie Prescott is getting released tomorrow (Tues, June 21st), his PO having been quick with the turn around. Bunker did get some good news. That ear plug that had gotten stuck worked itself out after fluid build up and pushed it out enough to where he could get it. He still can’t hear as he feels like he’s underwater but hopefully he’ll be ok now. I just watched TV that night. I had figured today to be my release date almost since I got here. But I’m not complaining, I’m grateful. I could be going through what Sands, Bunker, or Lloyd are going through. It really is almost over.

I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). I expected Tuesday to be another day of waiting for my ERP social worker Ms. Grey to walk through those steel doors with the word that my judge had signed my amended judgment of conviction permitting my release from prison since I have now graduated the ERP. Tuesday didn’t disappoint as I did do a lot of waiting. We did get some weirdness go on though. Starting with the first count in the morning, cellie Scar Johnson talked right in front of the guard as he was counting us. The guard was more shocked than anything I think that Scar was so brazen in his disregard for his authority and the procedures for count. But that was the end of it or so it seems. Trust me though the guard involved wont’ forget. A little later the other guard inspected a cell and found a stinger. A stinger are melted prongs stacked inside an electrical cord which is stuck in water with salt. The cord the plugs into the wall. The salt water then heats up soda bottles full of water. Inmates use those bottles for coffee or refried beans. Most prisons provide a microwave to inmates so this isn’t necessary. But not at MSDF. Supposedly, if you get caught with a stinger, its supposed to be an automatic trip to the hole. But nothing came out of it thus far for the inmates in that cell. This guard then went from cell to cell looking at everything that was plugged into a socket checking to see if one of the prongs were removed. of course, you can make a stinger with any metal you can fit into the electrical cord holes (a radio cord is often used). Wire from a notebook, paper clips and so on. So the point of the search was a little lost on cellie Larry Sands and I. Anyway, a little later on, the lock for the door on the cell next door wouldn’t open for any key. Maintenance had to be called and the inmates in that cell had to hang out in the dayroom. Of course, another guard had to stand up their with the worker as he worked on the door to ensure no tools were taken. But the event we were all waiting for didn’t happen for anyone – getting word from Ms. Grey if our paperwork had been signed by the judge. ERP group member Scott Dietz called his sister and had her check on all ten of us on CCAP to see if any activity occurred on our cases. There was some confusion on her part whether or not she was looking in the right place. I got on the phone and tried to help. Still, no signs of activity on CCAP. I’m ok though. I know it’s going to happen so I’m not going to get worked up. It’s just a matter of time.

I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). Nothing much happened the weekend after our ERP Group graduated. Two minor incidents would have implications later on. First, cellie Scar Johnson began talking trash about me in the dayroom. I got word of this from cellie Larry Sands. I just didn’t care as I’ve come to know the person he is and since I’m almost out of here opinions here matter even less than it did to me before. Second, cellie Jose Michaels had the occasion to be playing his music louder than normal. He likes a Puerto Rican style of rap which I don’t care for. But the way it has worked in our cell up to this point is we use our headphones for electronics. It’s a respect thing as not everyone likes what another might. So, I asked him to turn it down which he did. End of story right? Not exactly. Come Monday, it started similar to when I first got to MSDF. Lots of TV, took a shower and read. It’s so nice to not have to wait in line for the shower now! But during the day, our ERP social worker Ms. Grey came by and summoned us to the dayroom. I hoped against hope she got word our judges had already signed our paperwork, but no such luck. Though she hadn’t felt the need to go through our Phase III evaluations, she brought our Phase 3 evaluations for our signature. Glancing through mine, the ratings were generally positive, but the true reflection of how she felt laid in the comments she made. She mentioned how I went to the hole because of this blog but also mentions that though I never received any kind of discipline for it I seem to always have to have the last word and that I didn’t seem to grasp the basic tenants of the ERP program. I read this and briefly agreed. I was helping at her request other inmates with their goals for crying out loud! But I wasn’t going to make any headway here, certainly not with all those other group members standing around. It felt vindictive, almost retaliatory on her part. Of course, this doesn’t change anything about my status as having completed the ERP program. The only downside is this eval will go to my parole officer (PO), Helen Gaither. There’s a good chance she won’t even read it. But at the time I admit to being angry. I was even more angry when Sands returned and told me Ms. Grey asked him if he regretted moving to this cell. When he said no, she asked if he was sure. Again he said no. I sat there fuming. I went about my business thinking about all this. I got in a better mood though when Michaels came around. He has such a positive attitude, you can’t help but not be down around him. We got to talking and he told me that he had been unhappy when I asked him to turn down the music and that he can’t wait till Sands and I leave so he can run the show in this cell and they can be bad as they want in there. He was decent about it and he demonstrated respect by seeing we had a way of doing things before he got here. But I’ll still be glad I won’t be here for that collision between Scar and Michaels! But I’ll close with some comments about what Ms. Grey did. Its good I always wait before I write these entries. It allows perspective to form. But to be honest, I’ve been unhappy with my writing for this blog while at MSDF. I have had one hour a day to write whereas at other institutions I had tons of time. I’m also unhappy with my time at MSDF. I grew as a person much more while at DCI, JCI, and FMCI. Though MSDF and ERP were largely negative influences in my life, ultimately I’m responsible for my own growth or lack thereof. So I have to accept responsibility for that. It’s not Ms. Grey, MSDF, cellies or others fault. But I will say I do look forward to a more positive atmosphere that I will create out in the world. The proof is in the pudding as they say. I believe that with God’s help, I will be successful even if it does look overwhelming now.

I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). It was Friday, June 10th, graduation day for my ERP group. At about 8:30 am we all went down into the dayroom to setup the chairs for everyone to sit along with 9 or 10 chairs on the left side for whatever people that were not inmates that would attend. They put the Transformer image up on the board used at the last ERP graduation. They’ve been working on this as part of our graduation project. Then of course we put 10 chairs up front for us. John Lloyd, of course, served as the MC. He read an opening statement but the problem was the same as it was for every person who spoke thereafter. We really couldn’t be heard beyond the first couple of seats but we didn’t know that at the time. The unit manager then gave a statement congratulating us. We then each read a quote each of us chose along with saying what it meant to us. My quote was “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance” by Derek Bok. The gist of what I had to say about revolved around was that getting to know me, about why I think the way I do, recognizing the errors in how I think and how my changes are a result of a decision to change, not the product of the prison staff or programs. I’m pretty sure, though I have a deeper voice that carries pretty well, I’m sure they didn’t hear me very well. Our ERP social worker, Ms. Grey, clearly was unhappy with my comments. Oh well. If you’ve been following this blog, especially prior to my arrival at MSDF you’ve known this to be true. Afterwards Ms. Grey spoke and handed out ERP completion certificates. These were actually pretty impressive. In order to get my license back I’ll need to do an alcohol assessment and this certificate will show I’ve completed a program. That was followed with a closing statement by ERP group member Scott Bunker. Lest I forget, intern Nikita also made some nice comments while Ms. Carr and Ms. Presley both declined to say anything. After it was over, they handed out cookies to everybody after which we put the chairs away. We went back to our cells to await lunch. News of the carry conceal law came over the news. Cellie Malcolm Johnson said this was great news for criminals like himself because they would just take the guns away from the white people carrying them. And with that he forcefully put his hand at my side to demonstrate. I wanted to say something but I decided to wait until we were alone. About that time Ms. Grey showed up and wanted our Phase I , Phase II, and Phase III tests we had done. It took me a minute but I found them. After lunch, when Malcolm was in the room alone with me. I told him in the future not to put his hands on me. He said alright but didn’t apologize which is fine. It wouldn’t have been sincere anyway. Fortunately 1 pm arrived and since I’m now a graduate I went to our former group room and played ping pong and took a shower. It’s starting to actually set it. It’s over! It’s not so much joy as it is relief. I said a thank you prayer to God. I called my adoptive parentsCharles and Victoria Martin and Charles got the phone line in for my bracelet but didn’t have the internet in yet. I also called one of this blogs’ sponsors and they are still planning on getting me at the bus station once I’m released. The next step is for the judge to sign my amended judgment of conviction and send it back to Ms. Grey. Ms. Grey will let my parole officer (PO) Hellen Gaither know who will send a C15 form telling MSDF to release me. This process should take 10 to 14 days. Piece of cake considering what we’ve been through. Don’t you think?

I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). Wednesday came one degree away from setting another record for June 8th – 92 degrees with the same high humidity. It got to the point where they pulled out the huge mobile fans and the ice machine went dry. They had to put restrictions on ice as the machine created more, not allowing anything but cups to be filled. The point is, it was hot again. The tape put over the vent by cellie Larry Sands didn’t help at all. Since it was Wednesday there were no ERP groups for anybody. Despite the heat, we were still required to wear the yellow tops in the dayroom or in the rooms. Guard Roscoe Peters showed some degree of compassion by looking the other way at inmates who didn’t wear the tops in their rooms until our ERP social worker Ms. Grey showed up. Despite having told us previously not to stay in the dayroom all the time she insisted everyone do so now because she saw one inmate in his bunk. I was already grouchy as it was and this didn’t help. Then ERP group member Mark Hogan told several of us that our paperwork for release was not going to be sent to our judges until Monday per Ms. Grey. All the other groups until now have had their paperwork submitted the day before graduation by the Records Department because the person in that job didn’t’ work Fridays. The unit manager happened to be on the unit having his ear filled by cellie Malcolm Johnson about the perceived injustices done to him. Sands, Scott Dietz, and I approached the unit manager. Sands acted as spokesman. After reiterating the issue the unit manager seemed to not have an answer. He is new here so that didn’t surprise me. Speaking of Sands, it looks like Waukesha County is going to come get him for the warrant he has. Its an unpaid fine for a years old obstruction ticket. He wrote the judge asking him that it be made concurrent with his prison sentence but it was denied. Anyway, things were still up in the air as far as our release paperwork is concerned. On top of the heat and everything else, I also found out ERP group member Scott Bunker has got another problem. Us inmates often use earplugs when we sleep to drown out the noise cellies or guards make with electronics or slamming doors, etc. Well the tip of one broke off and got shoved deep into his ear. Health services here said they couldn’t see it and if he asked about it again they would refer him to psych services while also charging him twice the $7.50 copay. Turns out, not only is it there, the tip of the earplug is going to have to be surgically removed! With our impending release I wonder how they’ll handle that? The night ended as it began. Hot and humid but at least there is relief in store tomorrow.